Cognitive adaptation and mental health: A motivational analysis

The present study tested a motivational model where the beneficial impact that processes of cognitive adaptation have on mental health takes place through self-determined motivation. The model proposes that the components of cognitive adaptation theory (positive self-perceptions, perceptions of control, and optimism) foster a self-determined motivation. In turn, self-determined motivation predicts positive indices of mental health. In addition, the model posits that the beneficial role of cognitive adaptation on mental health is mediated by motivational processes. The model was tested using a 1-year prospective design with a random sample from the general population. Results from structural equation modelling analysis provided empirical support for the proposed model. Results are discussed with regards to Taylor’s (1983) cognitive adaptation theory, self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1991), and the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation (Vallerand, 1997). Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. When individuals are victims of a chronic illness, one could expect that such an event would challenge their world assumptions that they are invulnerable, that everything has a meaning, and that they are good people. Realizing that these basic assumptions have been shattered could lead one to experience negative mental health such as feeling depressed, anxious, or worthless. This common conception has been challenged by research in the victimization literature, which suggests that individuals undergoing such an event positively distort their self-relevant perceptions, which in turn allows them to successfully adapt to their condition (Taylor, 1983). Although research has documented the positive impact of cognitive adaptation on mental health (Taylor & Brown, 1988), very little is known on the nature of the psychological processes through which it operates. In this article, we present a motivational model of cognitive adaptation in which we Received 6 February 2003 Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 20 January 2004 *Correspondence to: Dr C. F. Ratelle, Faculté des sciences de l’éducation, local 946, Université Laval, Québec (Québec), G1K 7P4 Canada. E-mail: [email protected] Contract/grant sponsor: PNRDS; contract/grant number: 6605-4115-102. Contract/grant sponsor: FCAR. propose that self-determined motivation is the psychological mechanism through which cognitive adaptation enhances mental health. DEFINING COGNITIVE ADAPTATION Cognitive adaptation was first proposed as a process occurring after a threatening event such as a chronic illness. According to cognitive adaptation theory (CAT; Taylor, 1983), successful adaptation to victimization is accomplished through engagement in a series of mildly positive self-relevant cognitive distortions. That is, the adjustment process in response to a threatening event involves: (1) a search for meaning where the individual tries to achieve or maintain an optimistic attitude towards the event or towards life in general, (2) an attempt to regain mastery over the event or over one’s life in general, and (3) a restoration of self-esteem. Subsequently, Taylor and Brown (Brown, 1991; Taylor & Brown, 1988), reframed these cognitive distortions in terms of ‘positive illusions’ and further suggested that optimism, perceived control, and positive self-perceptions promote well-being. Whether these components of CAT are illusions or not is beyond the scope of our paper. Rather, we argue that these components provide a motivational strength to the individual, which promotes mental and even physical health (Taylor, Kemeny, Reed, Bower, & Gruenwald, 2000). We believe that cognitive adaptation can occur not only when there’s a highly threatening event but also in everyday life. The focus of this paper will thus be on ‘normal’, healthy individuals that are not undergoing a major threatening event such as a chronic illness. In line with Taylor and Brown (1988), we maintain that optimism, perceived control, and positive self-perceptions can have beneficial effects for the individual. We now turn to the examination of each component of CAT. Regarding the first component of CAT, it seems that individuals do not perceive themselves objectively, with both positive and negative attributes. Instead, they typically evaluate themselves in a positive way. More specifically, researchers have found that ‘normal’ individuals estimate possessing far more positive qualities than negative ones (Brown, 1986; Brown & Gallagher, 1992; Dunning, Meyerowitz, & Holzberg, 1989; Kleinke & Miller, 1998) as well as possessing more positive qualities than other individuals (Alicke, 1985; Biernat, Vescio, & Green, 1996; Brown, 1986; Brown & Gallagher, 1992; Dunning et al., 1989; for a review on positive self-knowledge, see Brown & Dutton, 1995). Furthermore, individuals have a better memory for their positive attributes than for their negative ones (Kuiper & Derry, 1982; Kuiper & MacDonald, 1982; Kuiper, Olinger, MacDonald, & Shaw, 1985). Research on the egocentric bias has also demonstrated that individuals selectively attribute success feedback to themselves and failure to sources outside the self such that their selfesteem is maintained at a high level (Grove, Hanrahan, & McInman, 1991; Taylor & Riess, 1989; Tetlock & Levi, 1982; Vallerand & Richer, 1988). The second component of CAT implies individuals’ belief that they have the ability to control their environment. Numerous research findings have documented this tendency for individuals to perceive mastery over uncontrollable events. For example, individuals put in a gambling situation often behave as if they exerted control over the outcomes of the game, which is clearly a product of chance (Langer, 1975). Furthermore, they will exaggerate their responsibility if the obtained results are in the desired direction (Langer, 1975; Miller & Ross, 1975). Alloy and Abramson (1979) conducted a study in which normal nondepressed participants were assigned to a random task on which they had control 50% of the time. Nevertheless, results indicated that they estimated controlling the task 70% of the time. Results provided by depressed individuals and individuals in which a negative mood was induced revealed that they could accurately identify their level of control over the task (Alloy & Abramson, 1979; Alloy, Abramson, & Viscusi, 1981). It thus appears that perceived control is characteristic of the normal, healthy population. 460 Catherine F. Ratelle et al. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 34, 459–476 (2004) The third component of CAT proposes that individuals hold an optimistic outlook on life. Indeed, research indicates that individuals believe that their present situation is better than their past and that their future will be rosier than the present even if this optimism is not warranted by their current situation (Brickman, Coates, & Janoff-Bulman, 1978). For example, individuals estimate having more chances than their peers to experience a range of positive events such as liking their first job, getting a good salary, or having a gifted child (Weinstein, 1980). In a similar vein, ‘normal’ individuals perceive having significantly less chances of being a victim of misfortune relative to their peers (Kuiper & MacDonald, 1982; Kuiper, MacDonald, & Derry, 1983; Perloff & Fetzer, 1986; Robertson, 1977; Weinstein, 1980, 1982). COGNITIVE ADAPTATION PROCESSES AND MENTAL HEALTH Results obtained in studies discussed above suggest that having a positive view of oneself, perceptions of control, and optimism is characteristic of the normal population, thereby suggesting a positive association between cognitive adaptation processes and mental health. Evidence for the mental health promoting aspects of cognitive adaptation is provided by studies with depressed individuals. Indeed, results substantiate a negative association between such mild cognitive distortions and depression. More specifically, as compared to nondepressed individuals, depressed individuals do not show perceptions of control, report more accurate estimations of their positive and negative qualities, display greater concordance with observers’ ratings of their personal attributes, and do not demonstrate optimism toward their future (see Alloy & Abramson, 1988; Brown, 1991; Taylor, 1989). Components of CAT, in addition to being negatively associated with depression, tend to correlate negatively with neuroticism (Brown, 1991). Results also indicate that individuals in denial (Lazarus, 1983) or those who resist self-deception report lower levels of depression and neurosis (Sackeim, 1983). It thus appears that cognitive adaptation processes are associated with indices of mental health. Moreover, elements of CAT are associated with other positive variables such as higher motivation, greater persistence, and performance (see Taylor & Brown, 1988). Studies on self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), a concept akin to perceived control, show that individuals perceiving a personal sense of efficacy report being more motivated and display increased effort. Research on achievement indicates that individuals holding these mild cognitive distortions perform better than individuals approaching tasks with realism (Bandura & Schunk, 1981; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). Furthermore, individuals confident in their abilities to successfully perform an activity will direct more attention towards the task whereas those who are less confident in their abilities will display more task-irrelevant cognitions (Sarason, 1975). Likewise, having positive self-views and believing in one’s abilities are associated with hard work and persistence on more difficult tasks, as well as with the use of efficient strategies (Bandura, 1989), especially after individuals experience failure (Felson, 1984). As a consequence, individuals will perform better (for a review see Brown, 1991). In sum, cognitive adaptation processes tend to be associated with enhanced motivation and performance. Furthermore, components of CAT are also positively correlated with indices of social popularity (both actual and perceived) as well as with happiness and contentment (Bohrnstedt & Felson, 1983; Felson, 1981). Individuals that report being happier are those who tend to perceive themselves more positively, have a tendency to believe that they exert control on uncontrollable events in their lives, and are more likely to be optimistic regarding their future (see Taylor & Brown, 1988). In addition, optimism has also positive effects on coping and mood (Brown, 1993; Kleinke & Miller, 1998; Segerstrom, Taylor, Kemeny, & Fahey, 1998). Motivation and cognitive adaptation 461 Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 34, 459–476 (2004) In sum, results from numerous studies suggest that cognitive adaptation in the normal and physically healthy population generally produces positive effects on mental health. However, the psychological processes through which these effects occur have not yet been studied. Below, we present a model that explains how these effects may take place. A MOTIVATIONAL MODEL OF COGNITIVE ADAPTATION The motivational model of cognitive adaptation proposes that the beneficial contribution of cognitive processes on mental health operates by fostering self-determined motivation (see Figure 1). First, processes of cognitive adaptation (positive self-perceptions, perceived control, and optimism) will promote a self-determined motivation (behaving out of choice and pleasure rather than external pressure or lack of purpose; see Deci & Ryan, 1985; Vallerand, 1997). More specifically, individuals who think of themselves in highly positive terms, who believe to have control over events in their lives, and who are optimistic toward their future will tend to be motivated in a more self-determined fashion. Several research findings support this hypothesis. Indeed, previous studies have found that positive perceptions of oneself are positive predictors of dimensions like competence, motivation, persistence, Figure 1. The motivational model of cognitive adaptation—the prospective theoretical model 462 Catherine F. Ratelle et al. Copyright # 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Eur. J. Soc. Psychol. 34, 459–476 (2004) performance level, and effort (Bandura, 1977; Felson, 1984; Tran & Cole, 2000). In sum, components of CAT appear to foster a more self-determined motivation. Second, the model predicts that having a more self-determined motivation leads individuals to be mentally healthier. This hypothesis is supported by several research findings, which reveal that the most positive consequences are derived from the most self-determined types of motivation such as intrinsic motivation (i.e. behaving out of pleasure and satisfaction) and identified regulation (i.e. behaving out of personal choice). Alternatively, the most negative consequences are usually produced by the least self-determined forms of motivation like external regulation (where behaviour is guided by reward attainment or punishment avoidance) and amotivation (i.e. absence of motivation). Such results have been obtained on a series of variables related to mental health such as life satisfaction, positive emotions, creativity, feelings of hope in life, vitality, and the absence of suicidal ideation (for a review, see Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan, 1995; Vallerand, 1997). More importantly, these findings have been obtained in several life contexts such as interpersonal relationships (Blais, Sabourin, Boucher, & Vallerand, 1990), sports (Brière, Vallerand, Blais, & Pelletier, 1995), leisure activities (Losier, Bourque, & Vallerand, 1993; Pelletier, Vallerand, Green-Demers, Brière, & Blais, 1995), work (Blais, Brière, Lachance, & Vallerand, 1993), and education (Ryan & Connell, 1989; Vallerand et al., 1993; Vallerand & Bissonnette, 1992; Vallerand, Blais, Brière, & Pelletier, 1989; Vallerand, Fortier, & Guay, 1997). Furthermore, this pattern of results has also been obtained with different age groups, such as elderly populations, using different mental health indicators such as self-reports of self-esteem, meaning of life, life satisfaction, absence of depression, as well as positive levels of psychological functioning and involvement, as measured by health professionals (Losier et al., 1993; O’Connor & Vallerand, 1990, 1994; Vallerand & O’Connor, 1989, 1991; Vallerand, O’Connor, & Hamel, 1995). Importantly, the proposed model suggests that self-determined motivation operates as a mediator of the relationship from cognitive adaptation to mental health. Hence, once the contribution of motivational processes on mental health is considered, the direct effect of cognitive adaptation should be significantly reduced. The model also posits that cognitive adaptation processes do not obligatorily result from a negative event. For this reason, we should be able to find these mild cognitive distortions in normal individuals that are not afflicted with cancer, AIDS, or any other misfortunate conditions. In sum, past research and theory support the relations in our motivational model of cognitive adaptation. However, it is important to note that no study to date has tested the different parts of the model within the confines of the same study. This represented the first goal of the study. A second purpose of the study was to test the model with a sample of the general population rather than with college students, as is typically the case in most social and health psychology studies. A third goal of this study involved the use of a prospective design in order to determine if variables of the model predict changes in mental health over time. Finally, the last purpose of this study was to examine if our model applies to both men and women as well as to individuals scoring low and high on social desirability. This allowed us to test the generalizability of the model for both men and women and determine if the model was influenced by social desirability concerns. It was hypothesized that the proposed model would be supported in all cases.